ANYONE CAN JOIN IN THE MUSIC

Tuesday, 6th May 2008

Spend a day (or as much of it as you want) with the Cobweb Orchestra at Middlesbrough Town Hall on Saturday 10th May.

Funded by Platform (promoting Classical Music in the Tees Valley) and in partnership with Middlesbrough Town Hall, the orchestra is running a Community Music Day and, taking their "everyone can join the Cobweb Orchestra" motto at face value, they will start by presenting a Beginners Session which will be open to anyone who has an orchestral instrument and can play half a dozen notes on it. Rusty players who have not played for a while will be made welcome too, and it's always good to have a few more experienced players who feel like brushing up on some of the basics.

Then there will be a free Lunchtime Symphony Concert of short, unrehearsed pieces open to anyone who wants to play, or to wander in off the streets and listen. The repertoire will include Gospel songs and Beatles classics so that people who can't play an instrument but enjoy singing can get involved too.

In the afternoon, the Instrument Making Workshop will give people of all ages the chance to make and play simple instruments which will be used later in the Family Concert which concludes the day's activities.

During the day, there will be opportunities to play alongside professional musicians including members of Northern Sinfonia, who have supported the orchestra since it began 13 years ago.

So if you are interested in orchestral music as a player or a listener, there will be plenty to interest you. All the events are either very reasonably priced or free.

The day will run from 10am to 5.30pm.

You can also join in with The Cobweb Orchestra when they perform the closing concert for the Hartlepool Maritime Festival on 6th July.

For further details and enrolment forms, contact the Cobweb Orchestra Administrator, Liz Carlile on 01642 873973 or e-mail liz.carlile@ntlworld.com

With thanks for to Platform for Classical Music, Tees Valley and Middlesbrough Borough Council for their support.

Notes for editor:

Platform, promoting Classical Music Excellence in Classical Music, was set up in 2006 as a result of the sustained efforts of a group of musicians and audience members in the Tees Valley. Conscious of the many gifted individual musicians and performance groups in the area, the group wised to create a permanent supportive infrastructure for all aspects of classical music making. For more information visit www.platformteesvalley.org.uk, ring 01642 384687 or mail@platformteesvalley.org.uk